URBAN SURFIN'

Cows, Counties and Kayaks Compete for Water in Colorado

By Headwaters News, 11-16-05

The case for building whitewater parks in the downtowns of many Western towns and cities goes beyond just giving the fun-hogs a place to play. They focus attention on stretches of rivers that have often been degraded in the past, cleaning up areas and creating parks that attract businesses, families, tourists and gawkers who can’t quite understand how that girl in the neon ski-boot-looking boat managed to twirl herself upside down and under the big wave in the middle. The parks are simply another aspect of many downtown revitalization projects.

But they don’t come without their issues. They can be hazardous to those without experience, must be maintained and are constantly in need of water. And it’s this last issue that seems to never quite get resolved. Today’s Durango Herald reports that LaPlata County, Colo., commissioners said Durango's push for water rights on the Animas River to maintain high flows for a kayak park could drain water from other parts of the county.

The city wants the water to maintain minimum flows in the whitewater park during summer, but the county says that could pull water from agriculture and other development projects upstream. The issue isn’t much of an issue in years with high flows, but in drought years, there isn’t enough water to go around.

A similar situation is occurring in Silverthorne. Denver water officials said Silverthorne's proposal to build a whitewater park just below the Dillon reservoir puts Denver's water supply in jeopardy, even though the park's water rights would be considered "junior" to the utility's.

The issue is whether recreational water rights can trump more traditional water rights, such as municipal and agricultural. The use, recreational, is new, but the laws are ancient by Rocky Mountain standards.

Given these and similar water fights, Colorado state Sen. Jim Isgar, D-Hesperus, proposed legislation last month that would significantly limit recreational water rights. His bill, according to an October 6 Durango Herald story, “involves a complicated formula that allows for larger percentages of smaller streams to be used for kayak parks, while making sure that kayakers don’t hog all the water in a large river like the Colorado.�

Colorado towns have been at the forefront of these whitewater parks for years, and are at the center of the (white) water debate. But with parks in Wyoming, Idaho and proposed ones in Montana, the legal battles will surely go on as the boaters look for a good place to play.

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